Author Archives: ACE R. MORANDANTE
WE WANT JUSTICE! Militants and relatives of Celso Pojas, the slain secretary general of Farmers Association of Davao City-Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, hold a picket here on Friday, May 16. They demand justice for the peasant leader, who, according to the rights group Karapatan, is the first activist killed in Davao city and the 14th killed in the country this year alone. They condemn the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Arroyo government’s Oplan Bantay Laya (Freedom Watch) which they say, already claimed close to a thousand lives of progressive leaders and members since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rose to power. Pojas was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-riding men on Thursday morning, outside their office in Maa. He is the first victim of political killings, just three days after Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano replaced Gen. Hermogenes Esperon as the AFP Chief-of-staff.(davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
An activist holds a placard calling for the scrapping of the 12-percent value added tax on oil products. Beside her is an effigy of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo depicting her continuous “subservience to the demands and dictates of big oil players.” Organizers said the strike paralyzed 95 percent of Davao City’s public transport system. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
COMPOSTELA’S BIG GUN. Compostela Governor Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy poses to the media while holding this high-powered rifle owned by the…
By MARILOU M. AGUIRRE | Davao Today
After their release from NPA captivity where they were investigated for possible “crime against the people,” two soldiers now face another investigation by their superiors.
New People’s Army guerrillas during the release of the soldiers last week.
A CHILD’S PAIN. Four-year-old Mimi suffers from a gunshot wound after their house was strafed by unidentified armed men on April 29. Mimi is one of the ten children of slain tribal leader Domingo Diarog, who was killed April 29 when their house in sitio Kahusayan, barangay Manuel Guianga in Calinan was strafed by unidentified men. Datu Docris Daug, a tribal leader from barangay Daliaon Plantation, and lumads from the K’tala-Bagobo tribe are asking Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s help in their quest for justice for their slain leader. The military blamed the New People’s Army (NPA) for the attack. But in a statement, the NPA denied having a hand in the strafing incident. Instead, the NPA pointed the culprits to be “working closely with the 73rd Infantry Battalion/Task Force Davao of the AFP at the behest of Apollo Quiboloy.” Quiboloy is known as a close friend of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
RECHARGING. Electrician Warren Perrer, 27, takes a meal across a four-storey building on Villamor street, where he works. In Davao…
By CJ KUIZON | Davao Today
Lanikai is Hawaiian for ‘heaven by the sea’. Indeed, many think that the place is just this side of the garden of Eden, especially because the vacation spot is designed to be serene and exclusive.
For those who want to be almost enveloped by blueness, there is a gazebo on the edge of the shore. (davaotoday.com photo by Jonald Mahinay)
DOWN SHE GOES. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo goes down the stairs of the Marco Polo Hotel after a two-hour closed-door meeting with members of the Bishop Ulama Conference. The BUC has been alarmed over the withdrawal of Malaysia from the international monitoring team (IMT) of the ceasefire between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
By MARILOU M. AGUIRRE | Davao Today
Davao city Mayor Rodrigo Duterte defended the revised Local Development Plan for Children (LDPC) against objections raised by the Catholic Church to the city’s reproductive health and safe pregnancy program. “God’s policy is antiquated and it cannot help the people who are reeling from poverty,” Duterte said during his weekly television program Gikan sa Masa para sa Masa.
